Amway's Powerful Woman
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Recently Forbes published its list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women (September 15, 2008 issue), and I was pleasantly surprised to see Eva Cheng listed as #88. Eva is Amway's top executive for Amway Greater China and Southeast Asia which represents just under half of Amway's global revenues. I know that she is regarded with high respect and admiration within the company and within the markets she oversees. It was only surprising to me that she had emerged on the radar of a major U.S. business publication. I don't know a lot about Eva, so reading that she began her career with Amway Hong Kong as a secretary in 1977 made me appreciate her accomplishments all the more!
Eva Cheng, EVP--Greater China & Southeast Asia
Many people here at Amway have super long tenures. Even though I've been here nearly 17 years, there are puh-lenty of people who have a ton more tenure with this company. It's a great testimonial to how much employees love working here and how well this company values and treats its employees. In my work with outside vendors, I'm often asked about what I do and how long I've been here yadda yadda. When I tell them I've been here as long as I have, their jaws often drop open because, to them, it seems unfathomable that 1) there are still companies out there where the potential for lifetime employment exists and 2) that staying with a company for so long can be good for your career.
It is true that this company is remarkable in its employee retention. People in West Michigan aspire to work here and newer recruits from across the country have found the company and the area quite welcoming. While it's true that there may be opportunities to job hop and achieve upward career trajectory, as one agency person has shared, personally I love what I do here, and who I do it for, and who I do it with.
There certainly are challenges, but there also are wonderful accomplishments to celebrate. Accomplishments like being ranked the 88th most powerful woman in the world! Imagine! Some people simply aspire to be the 88th most powerful person in their town, or maybe their high school. To be listed ahead of Queen Rania and Christiane Amanpour?! How cool is that?! Queen Elizabeth did finish 30 spots higher than Eva, so she certainly has the opportunity to set even higher goals for herself!
The downside of having so many people here so long is that you can fall into a rut of "how we do things." It's been good to have outside influences shaking up that mentality and getting us to streamline processes and focus better and achieve more. The transformational changes we've been making for the past year and will continue to make in the years ahead make me excited to be here and to continue to serve the DeVos and Van Andel families, the leaders within this company, and the IBOs who are taking control of their own destinies through an Amway Global business. We all can strive to do and achieve more, since there's probably a lot of room between where each of us is at and #88 in the world. Unless your name's Eva, of course!